Communication between different electrical components in a motor vehicle, such as, for example, a door control unit and a seat control unit, may occur via a bus system (e.g., Controller Area Network—CAN). In addition, new bus configurations may be currently being developed in which communication between the electrical components occurs via a supply line structure to power the electrical components of the vehicle. This bus concept may also be known as powerline communications. Presently powerline communications may only be operated with limitations in supply line structures provided in motor vehicles, because the information to be transmitted via the supply line structure may arrive at the receiving component significantly attenuated due to interference and reflection or may not even be distinguishable from interference or noise signals.
International Published Patent Application No. WO 92/21180 describes a supply line structure for powerline communications. In this document, the mode of operation of powerline communications and approaches for addressing different problems that may occur in the implementation of powerline communications are discussed. Reference is expressly made to this document regarding the configuration of a supply line structure for powerline communications and regarding the mode of operation of powerline communications.
Furthermore, German Published Patent Application No. 197 03 144 describes a method for transmitting information in a motor vehicle via a supply line structure. The powerline communications described therein may be limited to the use for electrical components of a backing-up aid in a motor vehicle. A supply line structure already present in the motor vehicle may be used for powerline communications without specific modifications or adjustments of the powerline communications.
Data buses may operate in a more or less fault-tolerant manner. However, components relevant to safety, such as X-by-wire applications, for example, in which fail-safe data transmission via data buses may be required to be ensured, may be increasingly used in motor vehicles. In order to achieve the required fail-safe operation at least approximately, the data buses may be configured to be redundant at least in some areas.
The redundant configuration of the bus systems using a plurality of data buses, however, may result in increased material costs for the additional data bus and in increased labor and cost for routing the additional data bus in the motor vehicle.